Coach Every Minute of Practice

One of my biggest pet peeves in coaching is something I observe far too often. Coaches who do not coach every minute of practice. In my role as an assistant athletic director, I get the opportunity to observe a lot of practices in a wide variety of sports, during the winter and spring seasons. Everyone is now doing some type of dynamic warm-up and static stretch cool down, but not everyone takes the time to coach it. Coaches seem to use that warm-up time to converse about the practice schedule, which should have been finalized long before, or they play catch with each other. During post-practice stretch, they review the practice that is not yet over. This sends a clear message…Warm up exercises and stretches are not important. That festers into players thinking that some parts of practice are important while others are not. Every minute of practice time is precious. As coaches, we are privileged to be in leadership roles, and our personal example is the single best leadership tool in the kit.

If it is worth doing it, it is worth doing it right. Coach the proper biomechanics. If an ankle is supposed to be dorsiflexed, see that every athlete is doing that on every rep. This will demonstrate to your athletes that attention to detail and strict performance standards are critical to your team. Further, you expect their best effort in everything they do all the time. If you expect their best effort, you’d better be giving them yours!

Coach Rich Alercio is available to discuss team building, coaching philosophy, X’s & O’s, or teach his O-Line “techniques in the trenches.” Contact Coach at richalercio@gmail.com and share http://www.olineskills.com with your colleagues and friends. Thanks for your time!